Bev Smith, Chief Executive of NWLDC, said: “The district council is very proud to already be a Disability Confident Employer and we would love to see other businesses join us.

“We have recruited fantastic and talented employees with our eyes open to the possibility of hiring people with disabilities.

“It is important to spread this message to other businesses in the district and I’ll be speaking passionately to promote this.”

Theresa Malcher, Senior People Policy Specialist – Logistics at M&S Logistics, said: “At M&S we are passionate about supporting those who face barriers to work into the workplace – whatever the barrier might be - and we support hundreds of people with disabilities every year as we know they are fantastic talent.

“We have a long-standing employability programme, Marks & Start, which does just this. We also work with four programme partners to support those who face barriers to employment; Prince’s Trust (young people between the ages of 16-25), Remploy (people with disabilities and health conditions), Business in the Community (homeless or those at risk of homelessness) and Gingerbread (lone parents).”